Death on the Heath

Chief Superintendent Gently #28

by Alan Hunter

1st Dell edition paperback vg++

Genres: Mystery, Crime

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Alan Hunter was born at Hoveton, Norfolk and went to school across the River Bure in Wroxham. He left school at 14 and worked on his father's farm near Norwich. He enjoyed dinghy sailing on the Norfolk Broads, wrote natural history notes for the local newspaper, and wrote poetry, some of which was published while he was in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

He married, in 1944, Adelaide Cooper, who survives him with their daughter. After the war he managed the antiquarian books department of Charles Cubitt in Norwich. Four years later, in 1950, he established his own bookshop on Maddermarket in the city.

From 1955 until 1998 he published a Gently detective novel nearly every year. He retired to Brundall in Norfolk where he continued his interests in local history, natural history, and sailing

Reviews

[Alan (the Lone Librarian on semi-hiatus)) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gently and a 'Hamlet' family
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2016) of the Walker & Co. hardcover original “Death on the Heath” (1982).

NOTE: This book is a spoiler for Gently Where She Lay (Gently #19) as one of the suspects from that earlier book returns and is again a suspect. The earlier book’s plot is discussed enough to reveal the earlier murderer.

‘So,’ Gently said. ‘If not you, if not another boy friend, who am I looking for?’
Reymerston stared over his glass. ‘Don’t think I haven’t been giving it some thought. Unlike you, I know the field, and unlike you, I know I’m innocent. And unlike you I’m a suspect – which really gets the grey matter weaving. All the same, one doesn’t rush to point a finger at other people.’
‘But you can point one.’

A man is found murdered on the heath in Suffolk. He was the manager of a firm of printers and the family of owners comes under suspicion, including the scion. Meanwhile, the scion's uncle married his mother after the death of his father. Does that sound like a setup from some classic play that we all know? Gently suspects that the solution to the current crime also lies in the past. There are of course twists in the way before the final answer is revealed.


The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published under its original title by Walker & Co. in 1982. Image sourced from Goodreads.

I was relieved that this book at least returned to the investigative scenarios of the series, rather than continuing the suspense thriller styles of the previous 2 books.

Trivia and Link
Gently in the Past was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if it's just because the previous two books in this series were so exceptional but this instalment was a bit of a comedown. Hunter returns to the formula he so successfully abandoned in the last two books and it left me feeling this this book, while not actually bad, was a little flat and uninspired.

Actually, uninspired isn't strictly accurate, as this tale was very obviously heavily influenced by Hamlet. Hunter does credit The Bard of Avon in the afterword, though, so I guess that's fine.

Here's hoping the next book in the series recaptures some of the fire of the last couple...

[Cece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third in the mini-series within the series. How could I resist?

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too bad I didn't write a review at the time...despite having read this less than two years ago I recall nothing about it. The cover is pretty generic-English-mystery, isn't it?

[Jane Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the televised George Gently series and British mystery authors are among my favourite, but the writing style just did not resonate with me.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Newly married but with his wife away sorting her affairs in France, Gently gets sent to Suffolk to solve a murder case where a man from a previous case is the chief suspect